Young winger Abdulai Bell-Baggie has come a long way this season and is still pinching himself after playing at Wembley.

The 18-year-old Academy graduate, who is known as Abs by his team-mates, earned his first professional contract with Royals at the end of the season.

Before he knew it he was playing at the home of English football on loan with League Two side Rotherham United.

The Lower Earley lad came on at the death as Ronnie Moore’s men crashed out 3-2 in the play-off finals, but even though it was a disappointing result, Bell-Baggie had plenty to celebrate.

“It was a really big day for me and my family and friends who were there,” the former Hillside and Bulmershe College pupil told getreading .

“Not a lot of footballers get the chance to play at Wembley and especially not a lot who are my age and just starting out in the game.

“Brian McDermott came and spoke to me before the game. He said that he didn’t ever get the chance to play at Wembley during his playing days.

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t win the game, but at the same time it was a massive step in my development personally to get the chance to be involved in such a big game.

“I hope I get the chance to play at Wembley again at some stage and that is something that I will be working hard for.”

To celebrate his rise through the ranks at Madejski Stadium, Bell-Baggie jetted off on holiday this week as he recharges the batteries at the end of a season in which he got a taste of League football.

Although he has yet to feature in the first-team at Madejski Stadium, Bell-Baggie believes his time away from the club will help him grow as a player as he makes the transition from youth football to the professional game

“The first two weeks that I went to Rotherham were probably the hardest of my life,” explained Bell-Baggie.

“It was the first time I had ever been away from home. I had to do a lot of growing up and I feel that going to Rotherham has helped me mature as a person and also as a player.

“Luckily I was living with some of the other guys from the team so they made me feel at home.”

Bell-Baggie, who was handed the squad number 38 when McDermott took charge in January, also believes that another loan spell could be beneficial for him next season as well.

“I would like to look at going out on loan again if it means I’m getting games,” he said.

“It’s something I think we will look at after pre-season though. A lot of the other guys who have come through the Academy have spent time on loan at other clubs and it’s a great way of getting experience.”

Many Reading fans will be excited at the prospect of seeing Bell-Baggie in action during pre-season following the impact made by Gylfi Sigurdsson and Simon Church in the first team over the past 12 months.

And he admitted that he was hoping to emulate the achievements of players like Sigurdsson, Church, Alex Pearce and Hal Robson-Kanu.